Regional Differences:
Regional banks are trying to rid themselves of the dirty aftermath of the SIVB collapse. The performance, via the KRE, over the last 3 months, gaining 17%, is a good start. That looks good when you compare it to the advance of 10% from the overall finance group with the XLF. But obviously, this is a small sample size. If we look back over one year the XLF has risen by 3% as the KRE has dipped 18%, not a typo. Additionally, the KRE is much further from its 52-week highs, now 24%, with the XLF only 2% from its annual peak. It remains to be seen if this nascent strength in the regional banks will continue but if one were to put this theory to work as always demand best-of-breed. For me, an MTB fits that bill, with its now upward-sloping 200-day SMA just one month ago. It met its measured move to 148 almost precisely from the recent bull flag breakout and is now retesting its 50-day SMA for the initial time following a breakout, often an ideal entry point. Also, the MACD signal line is approaching the round zero level, which was former resistance and bulls will look for that to turn into support. If strength persists a double bottom add-on pivot of 140.37 is set up.